Irmã Brooks.: MEGA-BED

FAMILYYYY!! I AM SO HAPPY!! THIS HAS BEEN THE GREATEST WEEK!! And guess what I realized this week?! We were driving back from Lisbon, and on the four hour bus ride, I thought to myself--I love my mission. And then I went, WAIT! I LOVE MY MISSION!! I LOVE MY MISSION GUYS!!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! AND I AM SO HAPPY!! AND THERE IS SO MUCH LOVE IN MY HEART AND IN OUR HOME AND IN PORTUGAL!!! Therefore... we created a mega bed!!! :) So what if the Elders make fun of us every day for loving each other so much. I`m not even a little bit mad about it, because it`s the greatest thing ever!

This week has literally been a week full of miracles. I cannot believe it has only been a week, because SO much has happened! But, I could NOT be more blessed. Heavenly Father is SO amazing, and He answers literally EVERY one of my prayers so specifically it`s incredible. Every single day I am more and more blown away by how specifically Heavenly Father knows us and how much He WANTS to bless us. It`s incredible. I wish I could tell you every single experience I`ve had, but that would fill a book, so...I`ll just do that instead :)

Anyways, I LEARNED SO MUCH THIS WEEK. President is SO incredible and so are the assistants, and during our training meetings, I was just soaking up every word they had to say to us. They are seriously SO inspired and they are such amazing missionaries and they do ALL the things that Preach my Gospel says, and it`s so incredible, because it just proves that this work and every aspect of it really is inspired by the Lord. I`m always so blown away, and I just want to keep working harder and harder so that I can be half of what they are.

But anyways, on Thursday, I PICKED UP SISTER STOKES AND SHE IS AN ANGEL SENT FROM ABOVE!! I LOVE HER SO MUCH!! She is SO happy and she is just perfect in every way. AND she loves Pitch Perfect. And her favorite part is the arm raise at the end too, so...it`s a sign. We were meant to be. She`s SO incredible though. It`s so crazy watching her and seeing how far I`ve come without even realizing it. Like how she is so stressed about the language and how the people in the street speak so fast and use all these words she doesn`t know. But, não faz mal, because I don`t understand half the words the people in the street say either...oops. But she really is SO incredible, and she has so much faith, and we are working SO hard, and our first day of full work together, WE FOUND 9 NOVOS!! Which I know means nothing to you, but it`s more than I have ever found in one day in my whole mission!!! And I know it`s because of our faith and diligence. Except for maybe the one car contact that we did where two boys drove by and honked and then circled around and then stopped to talk to us and then we contacted them and prayed with them while they were still sitting in the car, and we were on the sidewalk, but hey....they were still cool.

AH BUT THE WORK IS SO GOOD!! WE HAD A BAPTISM THIS WEEK! Maria got baptized!! The Spirit is always so strong at baptisms and confirmations. It is unreal. On Monday, I found out that our family that was supposed to get baptized this weekend too that I thought was a family isn`t actually a family, because they aren`t married.....oops. BUT! No fear! WE`RE HAVING A WEDDING!!! GUYS I GET TO PLAN A WEDDING!!! COULD I BE MORE EXCITED?!? Probably not. Sofia just laughs at me all the time when I tell her how excited I am. I might be more excited than she is, and she`s been waiting for this day for 10 years! She said she`s always wanted to get married, but he has had some problem with it, but `now he`s had a change of heart, because he`s found God.` ah I die!!! The Gospel really does bless families!! THEY`RE SO COOL. At the baptism of Maria, (their neighbor, who they invited to go to church with them) Sofia gave the closing prayer!! And she was sitting next to another investigator, and when the investigator asked her how she knew that she needed to be baptized, she said, `I feel a peace in my life and in my home so strongly that I can`t deny it.` Seriously?! Could she be more awesome?! AH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!! And they have the two cutest little boys in the world that run around without pants on all the time. The Portuguese are so funny. GUYS I GET TO PLAN A WEDDING AND A BAPTISM ON THE SAME DAY! This is like my dream/every Sister missionary`s dream come true!!

AND the other day, the day we taught Palavra de Sabedoria, I noticed that they had a cabinet filled with different types of alcohol, and I got nervous, because what do you do with that? BUT NO FEAR, because when we went back there the other day, IT WAS FILLED WITH DECORATIONS AND MOVIES!!! I could not have been happier, and they could seriously not be more amazing!

Funny story. Ward temple trip this week. Bishop and his wife have a 4 year old son. When they told him where they were going, they said to the Lord`s house, and he got so excited. Then when they got there, he says, `Okay, where`s Jesus?` hahah, and then when they tried to explain it better, he said, `Okay, but he`s coming right?` I die. So precious.

So this week, when I was in Lisboa, we were in the office, and I was so happy, because that meant MAIL TIME!! So I ran downstairs and looked through our box, and I WAS SO HAPPY BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH LOVE IN THERE FOR ME!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST EVER AND I LOVE YOU SO!!! And then! There was the mail from that day, and I thought to myself, I won`t have anything, but why not? So then I flipped all the way through it, and at the very end was A LETTER FROM MELANIE!!! AH I WAS SO HAPPY!!! AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH SHMELLY!!!! I`ll write you back ASAP!! I LOVE MAIL TIME!!!

SPEAKING OF--SJ AND CHAL YOUR WEDDING INVITATIONS COULD NOT BE MORE PERFECT!! YOU GUYS COULD NOT BE MORE PERFECT!! I DIED!

SARAH DARBY YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE WORLD`S GREATEST MISSIONARY OF ALL TIME, AND I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!! I LOVE YOU SO!!

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!! I LOVE HEAVENLY FATHER SO MUCH! HE LOVES US SO MUCH!! I LOVE MY MISSION! I LOVE MY LIFE! I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!!! SO MUCH LOVE!!

xoxoxoxox

Sister Brooks